Na Fianna Catalpa GAA Club

NA FIANNA CATALPA

GAA CLUB

NA FIANNA CATALPA GAA CLUB ARE A BRAND NEW GAA CLUB BASED SOUTH OF THE RIVER SERVING THE COCKBURN, KWINANA, ROCKINGHAM, MANDURAH AND PEEL REGION.

QUERIES & QUESTIONS:

Please don’t hesitate to contact the club Email: nafiannacatalpagaa@gmail.com Instagram: @na_fianna_catalpa_gaa Facebook: Na Fianna Catalpa GAA Sponsorship packages are also available.

Na Fianna Catalpa was formed in March 2021, when former Morley Gaels Padraig Collins and former Minor coach Trevor Dunne planned to set up a club to service the Peel area and surrounds. This was made easier as the groundwork was already done for them in 2013 by a few that were involved in trying to set up a club in Mandurah. This included Marty Corney, Andrew Boyle and Keith Fitzpatrick, and it’s great to see these come on board along with others to develop Na Fianna Catalpa. In March 2021 they all got together and decided to try again and promote GAA in the area. The name of Na Fianna Catalpa was an idea that came from Trevor Dunne; he felt that the story of the Catalpa bore significant Irish history to the local area. The Catalpa was a whaling ship from the USA that was funded by the support of Clan Na Gael. It was commissioned to travel to Fremantle, Western Australia, on a secret mission that even the ship’s crew didn’t know about. The mission was to free six Irish Fenians from the world’s most unescapable prison. In 1876 the Catalpa docked on Rockingham beach for three days while the escape took place from Fremantle Prison. The Fenians got into a rowing boat to make it to international waters and safely onto the Catalpa, which ultimately brought the six prisoners to their freedom.

NFC WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

The WA GAA board, the City of Rockingham, the City of Mandurah, PK Tavern, Harbour Family Chiropractic, O’Neills AU and all our committed sponsors. The support that we have received from all the GAA clubs has been outstanding and hopefully we will be fielding a team in next year’s competitions.

NFC (Na Fianna Catalpa GAA) started training with four people anywhere they could get public lighting: in the Mandurah Rugby clubs, Aqua Jetty pitches, even just some grass area at the side of Mandurah Skate Park. However, numbers started to grow and the club could show the City of Rockingham the plans to join GAA WA Football League and grow the club even further. The City of Rockingham gratefully helped in finding a facility that the club could grow into. We have been placed in Lark Hill Sports Complex, which is a multi-purpose sporting and recreation reserve at Lark Hill in Port Kennedy, Western Australia. It is located on 270 hectares of land approximately 60km south of Perth. Stage one of the $24 million development was officially opened in 2008 which provides for a multitude of sports including rugby league, rugby union, touch football, softball, cricket, soccer, football and more, as well as a synthetic hockey pitch and extensive outdoor multi-use playing areas and social facilities for the Rockingham-Mandurah-Peel region. There are discussions in place to have a full size GAA Field set out. Na Fianna Catalpa GAA have found their home. NFC now train every Monday at Lark Hill Sports Complex and have recently started a Walking Club for those who don’t necessarily wish to play football but still want to keep fit and exercise. NFC runs both clubs simultaneously on Monday nights at 7pm. NFC are also hoping to start up a junior academy in conjunction the WA Junior Academy, with great interest shown already.